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Design flexibility afforded by a fully engineered construction system
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High levels of thermal / airtightness performance
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Predictability and speed of programme, large ticket items moved off of the critical path
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Certification of performance and regulatory compliance
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Improved health and safety
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Considerably less impact on the environment
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Reduction of on-site wastage
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Lifetime cost savings from energy-efficient structure
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Engineered to the highest level of accuracy and quality
Lowfield Timber Frames has worked with several councils and large contractors to help deliver homes that are part of the net zero carbon agenda. We have provided timber frame kits and guidance for several Passivhaus projects including schools, social housing developments and self-build homes. Most of our projects are aimed at achieving net zero, carbon neutral or carbon negative results. Sustainability is at the heart of what we do.
We encourage a fabric first approach. The fabric first approach is simple; it’s carefully considering the design and construction of your building envelope in the initial design stages, before any building work begins. Principles and measurements like airtightness, U-values, thermal bridging, triple glazing and solar gain are a big part of the fabric first approach and contribute to minimising the energy usage required in a home.
Timber products stand out with the lowest embodied carbon among mainstream building materials. Wood serves as a long-term carbon store, absorbing more carbon than it emits during processing and installation, thus reducing a building’s carbon footprint.
Many companies and homeowners are aiming to decrease their operational carbon footprint by improving building performance. However, as we transition to “Net Zero”, it’s crucial to also consider embodied carbon, emitted during material production. Alongside efforts to minimise our carbon footprint during manufacturing, our wall build-ups often incorporate natural insulation like cellulose or wood fibre, further reducing the embodied carbon of each build.
Wood is an ideal choice for a circular economy an alternative to the traditional linear model. In a circular economy, resources remain in use as long as possible, extracting maximum value before recovery and generating new products and materials. At the end of a timber-framed building’s life, most materials can be recycled and reused.
Passivhaus adopts a whole-building approach with clear, measured targets, focused on high-quality construction, certified through an exacting quality assurance process. Lowfield Timber Frames are pioneers in Passivhaus construction and have a wide portfolio of projects ranging from self-build homes to large schools and social housing estates. Lowfield’s has its own certified Passivhaus designer who can get involved in the early stages of your project, applying a fabric-first approach.
We would tend to utilise our twin wall system with our Passivhaus builds. The Larsen / Twin-Wall system incorporates a lightweight wall extension which is used to create a thicker wall space to hold insulation. The system offers enhanced u-values and significantly reduces thermal bridging at key junctions. Wall thickness can be adapted to achieve the U-value you require for your build.
Lowfield Timber Frames has hosted several factory tours, welcoming a range of visitors from housing associations, architects, the Houses of Commons and Homes England. The response we’ve had has been very positive and it has been great to hear about projects in the pipeline and to express the importance of how early involvement, following a fabric-first approach can be beneficial to all and how efficiency targets can be met. We are proud to be Woodknowledge Wales members which enables us to be a part of these organised tours. We offer factory tours tailored to all organisations from large national developers to students, please get in touch to discuss this with the team.
